Cops Detain Teen for ‘Senseless Crime’ of Cutting Down 200-Year-Old, Highly Photographed Tree

One of Britain’s most famous trees was discovered cut down adjacent to the Hadrian’s Wall UNESCO World Heritage site in northeastern England on Thursday, sparking indignation and sadness and leading to the arrest of a 16-year-old boy.

After nighttime storms, it was discovered that the Sycamore Gap tree, which had been standing in the Northumberland National Park for more than 200 years, had collapsed.

AFP reporters at the site said that the tree’s stump had white paint streaks and looked to have been neatly chopped, as if by a chainsaw.

The tree’s crown was partially atop the 118-kilometer (73-mile) long, old Roman fortress that runs from coast to coast.

The sycamore gained to fame when it was included in a sequence of the Kevin Costner-starring smash hit “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves” from 1991.

The adolescent was detained, according to Northumbria Police, who are looking into the incident, on suspicion of causing criminal damage.

“The events of today have caused significant shock, sadness, and anger throughout the local community and beyond,” stated superintendent Kevin Waring.

We are maintaining an open mind since our study is still in its early stages, he noted.

Millions of tourists have taken pictures of the sycamore throughout the years, which was named the 2016 Tree of the Year by the Woodland Trust.

DETERMINATELY FELLED

The tree appears to have been “deliberately felled,” according to Tony Gates, chief executive of the Northumberland National Park Authority, which oversees the surrounding area.

“It’s really sad that someone has taken it upon themselves to do what is really a terrible act of vandalism,” he said to AFP at the site.

“At this time, we are unable to speculate as to (by) whom or why this has occurred.”

Gates said that he and the park’s volunteers had “a real sense of loss” and that many people had sobbed in response to the news, which sparked a wave of shocked social media posts.

“Many people would have valued this much. There will have been marriage proposals and important family gatherings conducted here, he said. It’s possible that some folks dispersed loved ones’ ashes here. I simply find it incredibly difficult to understand how someone could think they could do this to such a site.

A famous sight across the world is Hadrian’s Wall. It was started in 122 AD, during the rule of Emperor Hadrian, to demarcate the border between Roman Britannia and northerly, unconquered Caledonia.

Numerous families of the thousands of troops who lived along the wall have left behind buildings and artifacts that have provided archaeologists with a rich understanding of Roman life at the windswept northern boundaries of their empire.

The property was blocked off with blue and white police tape, and visitors had been warned to keep away.

Walkers on the well-traveled cross-country path expressed shock at the disappearance of the picturesque site, which had come to represent the area.

Sycamore Gap was a symbol of home for people all over the globe and a site of wonderful and poignant memories for millions of people, according to Kim McGuinness, the commissioner of Northumbria Police and Crime.

According to John Parker, the chief executive of the Arboricultural Association, the outpouring of astonishment and fury served as a reminder of the cultural significance of trees to people.

Many old species, according to Jack Taylor, a campaigner with the Woodland Trust, are not legally protected.